The reply came loud and clear. WE DO NOT CARE!

In spite of the fact that letters have appeared in the local press commenting on the consequences of the roadworks related to the installation of a drainage pipe along Ghar Dalam Road, we are informed by Local Council, asking whether anybody cares, nothing has happened!

However residents do care! On Friday 20 July at around 6.20pm, filthy water once again gushed down the road to splash happily against anything and anybody in its way. This acted as a sad relief to the clouds of dust that rise each time a vehicle drives up the road, which is approximately every second! Everything in the area is covered in a fine white/grey powder!

Can somebody please answer these questions?

• Since the work is envisaged to last approximately a year (Local Council informed) why has the half of the road, which has been dug up and filled with a concrete mix, not been temporarily patched up to contain the dust?

• Do residents especially asthmatics have any rights? Where are the Health and Safety officers?

• It is impossible to open a window in spite of the heat. Do residents have a right to open windows?

• What effect is this fine powder having on our health? How is it affecting the sea in St George’s Bay, which is frequented by scores of families, many with young babies?

• What are people using the collapsed pavement, including old ladies and ladies with prams, supposed to do? Are they expected to walk on the road and try to avoid oncoming traffic?

• Have sanitary inspectors visited the site? What are their conclusions? Do citizens have a right to ask and to know?

Local council has informed that since this is a major road it falls under the responsibility of the local government.

Has it occurred to anybody that apart from the hazards and inconveniences to residents, this area is frequented by almost every tourist who visits Malta since both Ghar Dalam Caves and Borg In- Nadur are situated in this area? What impression of our lovely island are they taking home with them?

Does anybody care?

Dorothy Fenech

BIRZEBBUGA